The mammary glands are a secreting organ of milk that is ideally suited to babies and the composition of which is ideally suited to the babies age.
The flow rate and pattern of the secreted milk changes as the baby grows, since the suction power and intensity of the suckling that he/she applies on the breast is changing. The flow rate and pattern can be measured as disclosed in WO2011117859, in the form of a device herein after referred to as a Nursing Meter
Breast pump are used to remove milk from the breast, to be appropriately stored and used later on, by feeding the baby through e.g. a feeding bottle. Breastfeeding pumps available on the market, are divided into two main categories—Manual pumps and electric pumps.
More advanced electric pumps, usually hospital grade ones, include pressure and cycling control button/s, to reach a convenient pumping power and pattern. The pump's pumping power (vacuum value) is much greater than the vacuum generated by a suckling baby, and allows extraction of large amount of milk in a relatively short period of time. There are two main negative outcomes to that:
1) Using a pump causes excessive breast milk production, higher than the natural production rate, thus leading sometimes to congestion in the breasts.
2) Milk composition is naturally adapted to the age of the baby. Due to too high suction power of the pump, the breast “feels” as if the baby is older, thus changes the composition of milk to fit the age of this “mechanical baby”, instead of the real baby's age.